Channel 4 commissions a third series of Ackley Bridge for 2019

22 August 2018

Channel 4 has confirmed that Ackley Bridge will return for a third series in 2019, with 8 brand new episodes commissioned from The Forge.

The first series was nominated for an RTS Award for Best Drama Series and won Best Drama, Best Actor, Best Director Fiction and Best Music and Use of Music at the RTS Yorkshire Awards. Series two, acclaimed by critics and audiences alike, concluded on Tuesday 21st August.

The idea for Ackley Bridge was inspired by schools in Lancashire and Yorkshire that were set up to integrate the white and Asian communities in some of the most divided towns in the country. It has won praise for the way it explores the lives of pupils and teachers alike with irreverence, wit, close to the knuckle humour and punchy, big hearted stories.

Manpreet Dosanjh, Commissioning Editor, says, “We’re thrilled that our beloved Ackley gang are returning to Channel 4 next year for what is sure to be another joyful, outrageous and unmissable series. This bold and ballsy show reflects modern Britain in all its diverse glory and does so with wit, grit and its heart firmly in the right place.”

George Ormond, Executive Producer, says, “Making Ackley Bridge gives us the chance to tell stories about a part of multicultural Britain that doesn’t get seen on TV very often, and do it with humour, guts and a big heart. We’re particularly proud to have given six writers their first hour of television drama in the first two series, five of whom are from diverse backgrounds.”

Ayub Khan Din, Executive Producer, added, “I'm so pleased to be given continued support by Channel 4. The Ackley Bridge curriculum gives you the three "R's" Race! Religion! and Rioting! Like a good Chicken Tikka Massala it has all the best ingredients with just the right amount of spice!"

Channel 4 Drama commissioners for series three will be Manpreet Dosanjh and Jonny Richards. It will be produced by The Forge and will film in Halifax next year. Executive Producers are George Ormond (National Treasure, Kiri, Great Expectations), George Faber (National Treasure, Shameless, Skins), Alexander Lamb (EastEnders, Waterloo Road) and Ayub Khan Din (East is East).

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Notes to editors:

Series two stars Jo Joyner, Paul Nicholls, Sunetra Sarker, Liz White, Adil Ray, Arsher Ali, Poppy Lee-Friar, Amy Leigh-Hickman and Sam Bottomley.

Ackley Bridge was created by Ayub Khan Din (East is East), Kevin Erlis (Shameless) and Malcolm Campbell (Shameless, What Richard Did). Directed by Penny Woolcock (Tina Goes Shopping, Mischief Night, The Death of Klinghoffer, 1 Day) with Joe Stephenson (Chicken, Mckellen: Playing the Part), Tina Gharavi (I am Nasrine) and Robert Quinn (No Offence). Executive Producers are George Ormond (National Treasure, Kiri, Great Expectations), George Faber (National Treasure, Shameless, Skins), Ayub Khan Din (East is East) and Hugo Heppell with Alexander Lamb (EastEnders, Waterloo Road) serving as Producer. It is produced by The Forge in association with Screen Yorkshire.

The Forge’s production credits include National Treasure (C4/Hulu) and Kiri (C4/Hulu), both written by Jack Thorne; The Last Post (BBC1/Amazon), written by Peter Moffat (co-produced with Bonafide Films); The Miniaturist (BBC1/WGBH), written by John Brownlow and Collateral (BBC2/Netflix) from writer David Hare. The company’s most recent green lights are DARK MONEY by Levi David Addai for the BBC and THE LIGHT (w/t) by Jack Thorne, for Channel 4. all3media International is The Forge’s international partner on Ackley Bridge and will handle its global sales.